


Breathe With Me

by wickrit



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: (not that much don't worry!), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Night Terrors, Platonic Cuddling, Purring Elves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:14:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26709589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickrit/pseuds/wickrit
Summary: Night terrors aren't fun, but just as well Taako has a support system in the form of Magnus Burnsides.
Relationships: Magnus Burnsides & Taako
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30





	Breathe With Me

Taako shot up in bed, heaving for breath, with his mind still half in his dream. Well, night terror. He glanced around his room, taking in the collection of hats stacked on his dresser, the Umbrastaff propped up in a corner, and slowly coming back to himself. He let his head fall back and let out a sigh which turned into a sob, flopping back down in his blankets. His night terrors were a frequent occurrence that caused him to lose a lot of sleep, but they normally didn’t get this bad. 

This time, they all died. Everyone he cared about was slaughtered right in front of him, and when no one was left, he was handed the knife that killed them. He had instinctively brought it up to his own throat, ready to slash and end it all. Just before the blade met skin he woke up in his room, in his home on the moon base. Taako laid back and tried to calm himself, but every time he closed his eyes a new body would flash up in front of him and jolt him back into a panic. He stayed there, wallowing in his own misery for far too long. Eventually some logical part of his brain kicked in and reasoned that if he checked on his friends then it would reassure him that they were okay, and he could finally get some rest in. 

He stood up, grabbed one of the many quilts on his bed and quietly entered the living room, making a beeline for Merle’s room. He gently creaked open the door and sighed in relief when he saw the dwarf sleeping among a… concerning amount of plants. Taako made a face and decided that no, he didn’t want to think about that right now, and headed for Magnus’s room.

Magnus blearily opened his eyes to see a pair of glowing gold eyes peering at him from the door. Anyone else would have startled, but he had been living with Taako long enough to know that it was just his friend coming to check on him. At two in the morning. 

“Taako?” Magnus asked sleepily. “What’re you doing up?”

Taako jolted upright and edged back out the door. “N-nothing, my dude. Just… just dealing with… dude stuff.”

Magnus sighed and sat up. “Night terror, right?”

“... yeah.”

“You want a hug?” Magnus said, patting the bed next to him. He heard a muffled sob from the doorway and all of a sudden Taako was next to him, sniffling into his shoulder. Magnus wrapped him up in a warm embrace, making calming noises the same way his mother used to do while Taako cried uncontrollably into his shirt. Magnus could feel the fabric getting wet, but he didn’t care. 

“Do you wanna tell me what happened?”

Taako shook his head, but after a second nodded. “You guys died. You died, and so did Angus, and Carey and Killian and the Director and when they were all gone something gave me the knife that killed you all and I— and I almost—” 

Taako trailed off into tears, but Magnus could connect the dots. He held him closer and let him cry it out, rubbing his back and staying quiet for the time being. Taako eventually calmed down enough to sit up and wipe his eyes. 

“Sorry about that, I…” 

“No, no, don’t apologise. You’re fine. Sometimes we just need to cry on a shoulder, and that’s what I’m here for.”

“It’s not your job, you shouldn’t hafta— “

“Taako, you’re my friend. I’m here whenever you need me and I’ll do this every night if you want me to.”

Taako sat cross-legged on Magnus’s bed for a long while before speaking again. “I’m scared that if I go back to sleep then I’ll have another nightmare.”

“Do you wanna stay here?” Magnus offered. “I’ve got heaps of room, and I’ve heard that I’m pretty good at cuddles.” 

Taako thought for a moment. “Yeah… yeah, if that’s okay.”

“I wouldn’t’ve offered it if it wasn’t. Come here.” Magnus lay down and held out his arm, Taako accepting the invitation and curling into his side. The fighter began gently scratching behind the elf’s ears the way he liked, and it wasn’t long before a quiet purr broke the silence. Taako sighed and snuggled further into Magnus’s side, relaxing at last. The pair slept soundly, and no more nightmares were had that night.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed :) I wrote this late at night after a long day but I thought it was cute so,,, here you go


End file.
